In Sickness and in Wealth
by Josi
Summary: Everything seems to be well with Karen until one night her friends wake up to a shocking phone call…But is it already too late to help her?
1. Chapter 1

**In Sickness and in Wealth**

**Disclaimer**: I don't own any of the characters from the show _Will and Grace_, I'm just using them for my own amusement without any profit.

**Summary**: Everything seems to be well with Karen until one night her friends wake up to an unexpected phone call…..But is it already too late to help her?

It's been a while since I've written anything, so I'm sorry if the writing is a bit off. I'd appreciate any comments!

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**Chapter 1 **

It was almost 1 am. Grace woke up with a start to the sound of a phone ringing somewhere in the apartment. "_Who the hell can it be this late?" _she thought as she rolled over to see the clock on the bedside table. Will was at home so it couldn't be him…but maybe he'd pick it up, because she sure wasn't going to get out of bed. Either way, Grace lifted her head up a little to hear what was going on. After two more rings she heard Will's recorded voice from the answering machine:

"You have reached Will and Grace. We are not here right now, or Grace might be at home and is just too busy eating to pick up the phone…" Grace growled. Will had changed their message again. "…but you can leave a message after the sound."

A loud beep followed, then a short silence, and then a voice that Grace recognized to be Jack's, even though it sounded somehow different...very distraught:

"Will….? Grace..…?" He was pleading. It was almost if he was about to start crying…or had just been crying...or both. Grace immediately started to get up, but then his next words suddenly froze her to the spot: "It's Karen..…", his voice broke "She's in the hospital…the doctors say she's had an overdose..…I don't know…"

Grace couldn't believe what she was hearing. Karen? Hospital? Overdosed? The same Karen she knew who could eat a bottle of pills for lunch and come out looking barely dazed? It couldn't be true. Grace was staring into the darkness, shocked and transfixed, when she distantly registered footsteps hurrying past her room. It was Will going to pick up the phone. This realization finally made Grace pull herself together as well, and she rushed after him, still feeling oddly light-headed at the face of the news she had just heard. It just couldn't be true. It had to be a prank call – albeit in very poor taste and very well acted – but it just couldn't be true. It had to be more likely that Jack would learn to act than that Karen would be knocked out by the pills she usually popped like candy. Or was it? Grace wanted to laugh it off, but she couldn't. Jack had sounded serious.

Will was the one to pick up the phone: "Jack? Are you there?" he asked with some urgency in his voice. Grace clicked the speakerphone on so she could hear the conversation.

"Yeah" Jack swallowed audibly in the other end of the line. "Karen..…she's…..I don't know what they're doing to her right now, but nobody's letting me see her."

"What happened?" Will asked levelly while Grace standing behind him found herself on the verge of tears.

"Uh…..Rosario called me just after midnight and told be to go to this hospital..…and that they would bring Karen in soon..…and then she had to go and I don't know..…" Jack was speaking very quickly and had to pause for breath. "But I came here, and I waited..… and then they came and she was unconscious..…and they took her away..…and Rosario went with her..…and I've just waited here...and just now a doctor came out and said she had taken too many pills and..…"

"Wait...wait!", Will cut in. By this time Grace had found herself a chair and was sitting down in shock. "Try to take a deep breath, Jack. Tell us what the doctor said"

"I…he didn't say that much" Jack said slowly. "I think they're still operating on her, or trying to find a pulse or…I don't know. I just saw a glimpse of her when they brought her in and she looked so pale…so……" He couldn't finish the sentence. Now it was clear to both of the listeners that he was in tears.

"It's okay, Jack." Will tried to speak soothingly "Just try to hold on. We'll be there in a few minutes!" He hung up after Jack had managed to utter something back in affirmative, and then motioned Grace to get back on her feet.

"Get dressed, we're going now" he ordered her.

"But…" Grace was still so shaken she could barely tell her left from the right.

"Just grab anything you have in your closet. Jack needs us right now……and Karen will need us too when she wakes up."

"But what if…" Grace couldn't finish the sentence. Will stopped briefly, laid his hands on her shoulders and looked her firmly in the eye.

"She will pull through…and when she does, we'll be there for her. Now go get dressed."

Not quite convinced, but still determined to put on a brave face, Grace ran to her room, grabbed an old pair of jeans and a T-shirt and was at the door again 5 minutes later. Will was already there waiting for her, holding both of their coats.

"I called a cab", he said, while helping the jacket on Grace. "Let's go."

* * *

15 minutes later they were out of the cab and heading through the hospital doors. There was no sign of Jack or Rosario, so they moved to the front desk to ask for information: 

"Has a Ms. Karen Walker been brought here recently?" Will asked while Grace was looking around, still trying to spot a familiar face. They were both scanning the room while the lady behind the desk was searching for information.

"Ah, yes" the woman said soon. "She was brought in at 00.25 and was taken to operation. These records don't show if she is out yet, but I'm sure……"

"Thank you" Will cut in. He had just spotted Jack stepping out of a room further up the corridor. He gave Grace a nudge and when she too had seen Jack, they both started speeding towards him.

TBC, please r/r!


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for all the comments! I'm not entirely sure yet about which route I'm going to take with this story, so the feedback helps a lot. I've also decided to bump the rating up a bit just to be on the safe side, because this is quite a departure from the light and funny TV show we know and love.

Disclaimer: I don't own the show or the characters. I'm just using them for my own personal entertainment.

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**Chapter 2**

_Some hours earlier:_

It was dark when Karen's limo pulled up in front of the manse. She had been out for another night of heavy drinking, like so often before – but even more so lately after she had called it quits with Lyle and was back to living alone in the large penthouse. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but the truth was she was lonely, and the more alone she felt, the more she looked for comfort in her pills and in the endless amount of alcohol she consumed. On this particular night it didn't help that the day would have been her and Stan's 10th anniversary…In fact that was the reason she had been popping a few extra pills since morning and downing stronger mixes of drinks than usual, and the effects were certainly showing.

As she now with some difficulty made her way up to the enormous apartment she felt for the first time in years a real urge to vomit – something that hadn't happened since she had taken to keeping her blood alcohol level constantly up. When she passed the kitchen she was for a second in two minds about stopping there for another bottle of gin. A part of her mind was telling her go straight to her room and bed…or even better, the bathroom floor, but her need for another drink was stronger. Hazedly she decided to go for the bottle when suddenly Rosario's dark figure in the dimly lit kitchen made her stop short oh her heels.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Karen slurred, leaning on the doorframe as the kitchen seemed to be spinning and she could barely feel her own feet.

"I live here you drunken cow" Rosario muttered, stepping across the room and folding her arms over her chest. "Besides, people in Puerto Rico would be able to smell your gin soaked breath. That's why I'm here to make sure you go straight to bed."

"You're here to do what I tell you!" Karen snarled, her voice now barely rising above a whisper. "If I tell you to lick the floor, you will lick the floor!" She paused for the effect and tried to cast a commanding look at Rosario, but only managed a disoriented glance in her general direction as the whole room kept spinning around her. "And if I tell you to bring me a…" Karen started again in a rising pitch but her voice trailed off as she began to feel the ground disappear from under her feet and all thoughts leave her head. She was no longer sure about what she had been trying to say, or who in fact she was talking to. She took a few unstable steps forward and found herself sinking in to Rosario's strong arms as the loyal maid had already jumped to her aid.

Two hours later – even though she herself had no idea of how much time had passed – Karen came around enough to find herself in her own bed. She had no idea how she had ended up there, but at that moment it was one of her lesser concerns as she was feeling abysmally sick and her head felt like it had been crushed with a heave object. Even death seemed like a desirable option.

Karen reached for her bedside drawer only to find that it had been emptied from all the pills she usually kept there to meet all her nightly needs.

"Rosario…" she muttered venomously, knowing well that the old maid was the only person who would ever dare to touch any of her medication. "She should be sent back to Guantanamo…or wherever the hell she's from."

"Rosario!" she shrieked out loud this time, wanting to hear an explanation and to get her hands on the pills.

It was at that moment that Karen remembered she had an emergency stash hidden somewhere inside her pillow. Desperate for a quick relief she ripped the cover open with her bare hands and reached inside for the pill bottle. It was still there. Karen sighed in relief as she opened the bottle and started pouring out the pills…one…two…three…Her head was pounding as if someone was hitting it with a hammer. She wanted nothing more than to be knocked out for several hours…four…five…six…In her daze she didn't even bother to check the label for how strong the medicine was supposed to be. She knew from experience she was going to need several of those beauties to get her truly sedated….Seven…eight…nine…ten, she counted. Karen laid the bottle down on the table and for a moment she contemplated the pills on the palm of her hand. She had nothing to down them with, but she didn't trust her legs enough to get up and go find a drink.

Karen sighed, shook her head, and without any further thought, knocked her head back and thrust the handful of pills down her throat. As she laid herself down, closing her eyes, she didn't see Rosario standing in the doorway with a look of horror on her face.

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_Back in the hospital: _

Out of breath, Will and Grace finally reached Jack who was still leaning on the door of the room he had just exited. He had noticed them at the information desk as soon as he had stepped out, and he could see them hurrying towards him, but he had made no move to go and meet them halfway. He had never in his life felt as numb as he did right now – not even when pink had gone out of fashion.

At first they all just stared at each other, and nothing apart from the usual greetings was said. In quiet unison all three of them then sat down on a settee right outside of the room. Will was expecting Jack to start talking; Grace wanted to ask questions, but was too scared for the answers; and Jack who had for a moment overcome her emotions and moved on to a quiet shocked state was finding it hard to find words.

Finally he pointed towards the door behind him and said simply: "Karen's there now". This, of course, the others had already guessed.

"Is she…?" Grace began, but faltered. She wasn't even sure of what she was going to ask.

"They pumped her stomach" Jack replied, looking down at his hands "and I think they needed to restart her heart. They said…" he trailed off and swallowed audibly. The tears were building up in his eyes again.

"What did they say?" Will asked gently, reaching to stroke Jacks hand.

"They said she would probably have been outside the reach of any help if Rosario hadn't found her so quickly." Jack looked up to meet Will's eyes. Then he turned to Grace and added quietly: "They said she could have died."

It was Grace's turn to look down at her hands and hold back tears. She had never known how much she cared about Karen until now that she realized she had come so close to losing her. Sure Karen always made fun of what she wore, who she was with, and how bad her hair was - but the truth was she had always been there for her when times got rough. She may have often pretended she didn't care, but deep down Karen was actually the most loyal female friend Grace had ever had. It pained her now to realize that even these past few weeks Karen must have been putting on a happy and cheerful face for her when she had been wallowing in self pity over Leo. It had never even occurred to Grace that Karen too might be going through some difficult times – after all, her marriage to Lyle hadn't even lasted through the reception. She had lost another important man in her life just a little over a year after Stanley's death. What kind of friend had she been not to have noticed anything?

"Jack…" she choked as a new thought entered her mind "D-do they know if it was…intentional?"

Jack shook his head. "I don't think we will know anything before she wakes up…if she wakes up", he added under his breath.

Grace blinked, tears burning in her eyes. She reached out for Will to hold her hand, which he quietly did, and for a while nothing more was said. Then Will finally spoke for the first time: "Can we go in and see her?" he asked, stroking Grace's hand gently. He knew she wanted to be there.

Jack nodded, getting up. "But the doctor said we shouldn't expect her to wake up tonight. They got the pills out, but there's still a lot of alcohol in her blood." He bit his lip and looked down again, refusing to meet his friends' eyes.

"What is it?" Grace asked, sensing there was something else he wasn't telling them, but Jack only sat back down and buried his face in his hands.

"Jack?" Will, who had also already gotten up, sat next to him and gave him a little nudge to urge him to speak.

"They said we won't know until tomorrow whether there has been any permanent brain damage" Jack muttered into his hands, and Grace was sure she could hear a stifled sob.

TBC

Please R/R


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Will and Grace.

Thanks for all the comments. Keep them coming! I think I forgot to mention that this is set somewhere during season 7 - so I'm saying it now in case it was till unclear. :)

**Chapter 3**

They all entered the room together. Apart from a quiet, steady beeping sound coming from the corner, everything was silent. The lights were dim and the only occupant in the small room was lying motionless in her bed.

"Where's Rosario?" Grace whispered to Jack. It was unlikely that Karen would have been disturbed even if she had shouted, but somehow it seemed more appropriate not to break the silence.

"I don't know" Jack hissed back. "She disappeared somewhere just before you two came." He shrugged. "Maybe she went to get something, or call someone…although I don't know of anyone else who might need to know." he added with a hint of sadness in his voice. They all knew that Karen had many acquaintances but only few true friends. Nobody knew about her relatives.

"What about her mother?" Will suggested.

"Does anyone even know where she lives these days?" Grace asked with little enthusiasm. Her opinion of Karen's mother was not very high. "I don't think Karen needs the kind of person right now who will leave her for another con whenever she chooses."

As she spoke, Grace took a step almost cautiously towards the bed. She thought she saw Karen stir slightly, but the next minute she was sure she had imagined it as there was no further sign of any movement. Grace could barely even register Karen's chest rising with every small breath she drew in her sleep. Then, as a sudden thought hit her, she quickly looked down at her shabby clothes. She couldn't have picked a worse outfit if she had tried

Shaking her head, she returned her eyes to Karen and sighed audibly.

"What's the matter?" Will asked gently, placing his hands on her shoulders as he stepped forward to stand right behind her.

"It's nothing" Grace shook her head again. "I just never thought I'd miss hearing her opinion about my…couture."

"I'm sure I could tell you exactly what she'd have to say" Jack chimed in quietly - half-heartedly - but still unable to resist the chance to make fun of Grace's clothing. He knew Karen would have done the same, and in a way it made him feel closer to her. It was a connection they shared.

"I have no doubt of it" Grace replied in the same joyless manner, and the subject was dropped.

Jack moved quietly closer to the bed, finally taking the lone seat right next to the patient. He took Karen's tiny hand and held it wordlessly between both of his. Looking at him, Grace and Will both knew he wasn't going to leave her side before she'd open her eyes. None of them had any idea how long it would take, but they were all prepared to wait.

"I'll go and get us all some coffee" Will whispered into Grace's ear. She merely nodded and approached the bed, drawing another chair with her. She too was prepared to wait.

As Will walked out and started making his way towards the coffee vending machine, his eyes suddenly passed and soon came to rest on a familiar figure standing further up the corridor. It was Rosario. She was talking on the phone - and by the looks of it, it wasn't just a pleasant chat with an old friend. His curiosity aroused, Will decided to approach her from behind, hoping to find out what was going on. Rosario's back was half turned, and it seemed she had not noticed his presence. As Will came closer he could finally hear the other half of the conversation:

"No!" Rosario seemed to be insisting. "I have told you. I don't think it's a good idea at all!"

There was a silence. Will wondered what was being said in the other end of the line…and by whom.

"This is not the time or place" Rosario spoke again, clearly starting to lose her temper. "You can't expect…" she seemed to be cut off by the other person. "No, she's not seeing…" Suddenly Rosario turned around and found Will staring right at her. "I must go now" she said hastily in to the receiver before hanging up.

"What do you want?" she asked Will, challenging him with one look to ask about what he had just heard.

"I…uh…nothing" Will muttered. He wasn't going to start interrogating Rosario. Not when he was by himself and caught so off guard. "I was just looking for coffee" he mumbled. "…ah, I see the machine is right over there", he added hastily and hurried off, wondering what had made Rosario so defensive. What could she be hiding? He had never questioned her loyalty to Karen, but now he didn't know what to think. Who could she be calling in the middle of the night? And what for? Something was not right.

However, when Will returned to his friends, he decided not to bring up the subject of what he had just witnessed. At least not yet. Both Jack and Grace had enough to worry about as it was. He knew they were both very close to Karen. Even if Grace insisted she only employed her because of her wealthy connections, it was clear that the two had become good friends over the years. Even Will himself, who hadn't always been in such good terms with Karen, had to admit that they shared a connection. It was an odd friendship, but they both knew – even though neither would admit it - that the friendship existed. He cared about Karen, and as her lawyer he also felt somehow responsible for her. He wasn't done with Rosario yet, but he knew he needed to gather himself before he could confront her, and until then his place was with Jack and Grace – by Karen's bed.

* * *

It was dark. Everything was dark and there seemed to be no way out, nothing to take hold of – and then there was a pounding pain. It had started as an unpleasant, undefined feeling somewhere in her head, but then slowly it had begun to take shape and demand her consciousness. But she couldn't. She couldn't bring herself to leave the darkness where she was wrapped in so comfortably. The only thing she was distinctly aware of for a while was that she was now feeling well – and she didn't want to be aware of it. She wanted to go back to wherever she had been. Karen stirred slightly, and her mind started shifting back towards oblivion…

Hours passed. Unbeknownst to Karen the light in the room grew stronger as the sun rose above the horizon. Jack was the first to wake up and realize they had all fallen asleep during the night; His head was resting on Karen's side, and Will and Grace were leaning on each other.

The next thing he noticed as he lifted his head was that Rosario had also entered the room and was sitting on the opposite side of the bed. She was not asleep.

"Rosie..." Jack yawned. "Have you been up all night?" He looked from Rosario to Karen who seemed to have shifted in her bed over the night. "Has she opened her eyes?"

Rosario only shook her head, glancing at Will's sleeping form as she did so. Then she got up and motioned Jack to come closer to hear what she had to say:

"I must go up to the manse" she hissed. "…to get some of Miss Karen's things that she'll need when she wakes up. I won't be long."

"Sure" Jack replied, looking puzzled "But why are you whispering?"

"Bozo and her friend just fell asleep" Rosario said simply, nodding towards Grace and Will. "It's been a long night for them both. There's no need to wake them up yet."

"But how long was I sleeping?" Jack asked, frowning. He was almost certain Grace had been the first one to nod off.

"Just keep an eye on Miss Karen" Rosario avoided the question. She was almost out of the door when she suddenly stopped. For a moment Jack was sure she was going to turn around and say something more – but she didn't. She only took one more look at her lady before making a quiet exit.

Jack resumed his position by Karen's side, still wondering about Rosario's behavior. He had been married to her for a year. Sure, the marriage had never been consummated, but he knew her well enough to know when she was hiding something – and now she was. But what was it? Jack sighed. He had a hard time concentrating on Rosario when Karen was there, still showing no signs of waking up.

In the morning light she looked like a sleeping beauty with her dark, almost black, wavy hair falling around her pale face. Jack had always envied her milky white skin, but now the effect it created was almost frightening. She looked so peaceful. Too peaceful…like nothing in the world could ever disturb her sleep. So unlike Karen. Jack reached out to brush an errant curl off her face. If only there was a prince charming to wake her up.

A sudden flash of anger went through Jack's body as he thought of all the men in her life that had betrayed her. Stan had cheated on her. First he had gotten himself into prison, and then he had cheated on her. Lyle had only tried to use her…turn her into something she was not just because it would have suited him better. Sometimes Jack wished he was straight so he could make her happy and take care of her for the rest of her life – but he wasn't, and never would be. He would never be able to fulfill all her needs. He could only try to protect her from those who might hurt her. If only he was given another chance to do so.

Jack stroked Karen's cheek gently and brushed his lips against her forehead. She had to wake up. He wasn't ready to lose her yet.


	4. Chapter 4

_I'm sorry I haven't updated in a long time. I've had a major writer's block and I'm not sure I'm over it yet. This chapter is **very** short, but I wanted to let you all know I haven't forgotten about this story and I'm still planning to finish it!_

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**Chapter 4**

Another hour passed. A nurse came in to check on the patient but left soon without giving them any new information. Nobody would say exactly how long they would still have to wait, but after exchanging a few words with one of the doctors, Will managed to find out they should expect something to happen before noon.

"So what are we gonna do now?" Grace asked, pacing around the room, occasionally stopping to draw breath.

"There's only one thing we can do," Will sighed, sitting down and making himself comfortable. "We must wait." Grace gave him a look, shook her head and kept pacing.

"But I have to go to work…I have to cancel clients, I have to…" Grace was getting agitated. Dealing with unexpected situations was not her specialty and she had no idea what to do. "I can't be in both places!" she sighed, shaking her head again.

"If you must go, then you must go", Will replied calmly, hoping Grace would pause for a moment so he could reason with her. "Karen is not going anywhere, and Jack and I will be here for her when she wakes up."

"But…"

"Cancel as many clients as you can; wrap things up at the office and get back here as soon as you can", Will continued in a reassuring tone. He turned over to look at Karen's sleeping form. "Maybe you'll make it back to us before she does."

Grace seemed to contemplate this suggestion for a moment. Finally she nodded her head slightly and was met with an encouraging smile from Will. Without further hesitation she walked over to Karen's bed and stroked her hand gently. There was nothing more she could do at the moment, and looking at Jack on the other side of the bed, she knew her friend and assistant would be in good hands whenever she woke up…

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With Grace gone, another hour passed by in almost complete silence. Jack kept staring intensely at Karen's pale face, trying to detect any signs of her waking up, while Will sat further back in the room, silently wondering where Rosario was and what she was up to. He was planning to have a word with her as soon as she returned – if she was going to return. Some more minutes passed without a word being exchanged between the two, when suddenly Jack, being closer to the bed, jumped up and started calling Karen's name.

"Karen!" he cried, holding on to her petite hand with both of his.

At the sound of Jack's voice Will was quickly brought back from his thoughts, and he too rushed to the bedside. "What's going on?" he asked, taking a position on the other side of the bed, his eyes shooting from Karen to Jack, trying to understand what had happened.

"I think she just fluttered her eyes!" Jack panted, "She must be waking up!"

Will looked at Karen, but saw no change in her. Her eyes remained as shut as he had seen them before. He sighed and shook his head. Then he reached over the bed and placed his hand on Jack's shoulder, willing him to calm down. As he did so, a silent moan suddenly escaped Karen's lips, and this time it was clearly heard by both of them. Jack gave Will a quick triumphant look before resuming his attempts to get the sleeping beauty's attention.

"Karen!" he almost squealed this time, making even Will cover his ears – and he wasn't the only one reacting: with her eyes still firmly closed, Karen now visibly winced at the sound of Jack's voice.

"I think you should take the voice down a notch or two" Will half whispered, noticing Karen's discomfort. "She must have one hell of a hangover"

Jack shot him a displeased look, but continued calling Karen's name in a much quieter tone. She moaned again, but her eyes stayed stubbornly shut. He searched her face for any more signs of waking up, but there seemed to be none.

"Just open your eyes for me, Kare" Jack pleaded with her.

Finally Karen mumbled something which was unintelligible for both of the men in the room. They looked over at each other and simultaneously shook their heads, indicating that neither had understood. "Come on, Karen, you'll have to do better than that", Jack whispered into her ear. "Now who's your daddy?"

There was a short silence. Then they could both hear her tiny voice reply weakly: "You are."

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TBC..._As always, I love reviews. _:)


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